Dropping Anchor
by We're All Fairy Tales
Summary: Sarah thinks Cosima needs a break from the hospital.


**Just a little plot bunny I had running through my mind. I have a serious soft spot for Sarah and Cosima's relationship, and I wanted to explore that a bit.  
**

**It's written as a sister or friendship fic, but you could read it as punky monkey if you believe hard enough.**

**Also, it's a slight AU where DYAD is not shady as fuck and slightly terrifying. I wrote it from the very bottom of the Ball Pit of Denial, and it's where you will be able to find me if you need me. **

**I hope you enjoy! Thank you in advance for reading. **

* * *

"Hey, Sarah."

Sarah snaps to full alertness - she'd been about to join Alison, who's asleep in a chair next to Cosima's bed. "Hey. How're you feeling?"

Cosima doesn't answer her, but props herself up on her elbows to glance around the room. She has to squint; her natural eyesight is even worse in the dim light of the hospital room. "Where's Delphine?"

"The lab. She was here earlier, but you were asleep."

Sighing, Cosima lets herself fall back down. "Figures."

"Really, though, how are you? You've slept all day."

Cosima groans, turning to face Sarah. "I'm bored."

Sarah's chuckle gets cut short by the force of an idea hitting her; she thinks she might just be brave enough to try it. "I'm bored, too. Let's get out of here."

"Seriously? Like, _seriously _seriously?"

She's already in action, going to the drawer that holds the outfit Cosima came to the DYAD in. She pulls out the dress and cardigan, holding them out to Cosima. "I'm game if you are."

With the first genuine smile Sarah has seen from her in days, Cosima says, "Hell yeah, I'm game."

Sarah hands her the clothes, and they reach their first roadblock almost instantly. With the wires and tubes attached to her, Cosima can't get out of the hospital gown. She takes care of the easy part first, unlatching the drips hooked to the PICC line in her arm. Their attention then turns to the vital sign monitor clipped to her finger - it she takes it off, her vitals will flat-line, letting the entire wing know that they are making an escape. At the same time, they give Alison a sly look, and silently agree on a plan of action.

Sarah slowly takes hold of one of Alison's hands, eyeing her for any signs of stirring. With her other hand, she extends one of Alison's fingers out to Cosima; in one deft move, Cosima takes the sensor off her hand, and clips it on Alison's. Neither breathe while watching to see if she'll wake up, and they simultaneously exhale when she sleeps soundly.

Now free, Cosima sets about getting changed. The outfit looks wrinkled and baggy on her, but it goes a long way toward making her look like herself again. Between the loss of her dreadlocks, that she's stopped wearing makeup, and having spent the last two weeks in a hospital gown, it's been a long time since she's been able to display some individuality.

They move slowly and quietly, frequently glancing at Alison. It reminds Sarah of her teenage years, trying to sneak out of the house without waking up Mrs. S. Luckily for her and Cosima, it turned her into a seasoned pro.

Once she's shrugged on the cardigan, Sarah helps her down from the bed and into a wheelchair, hoisting her oxygen tank on board with her. As an afterthought, Cosima grabs a notebook off the top of a pile of textbooks. She flips to a clean page and writes, 'WE RAN AWAY, DON'T WAIT UP FOR US,' in large letters, and leaves it open on her pillow. Lastly, Cosima taps Sarah's arm and points to the counter at the side of the room, reminding Sarah that she still needs her glasses. She grabs them on their way out, along with a hat - without her hair, Cosima's head gets cold with something as little as a slight breeze.

Sarah leaves Cosima at the threshold of the room, going ahead to make sure there's no one out there to bust them. When she's confident that they will make a clean get away, she quickly pushes Cosima down the hall and into an elevator.

"Oh my God, that was intense," Cosima pants when the doors slide closed.

"I think that's the longest you've ever gone without talking! I didn't know you had it in you."

"Oh, very funny. But here's a thought - how do we know that no one will be in the lobby?"

Sarah grimaces like the comment is physically painful to her. "I've been in and out of here enough to know it's gonna be empty. Things you pick up on when you're like me."

True to her word, they cross the ground floor and traverse the parking lot without incident. It takes a little time for Sarah to help Cosima maneuver into the car, and even longer to figure out how to fold the wheelchair up. She's pretty sure that it gets partly broken in the process, but all that matters is that it ends up fitting in the backseat.

"Whoo!" Cosima calls when Sarah starts the car. The shout triggers a lung rattling coughing fit that she muffles with her sweater, leaving it spotted with blood.

"Oi, calm down, yeah? If you die while we're out, Delphine will probably blame me."

Cosima giggles, "I'll make sure to die at only the most convenient time."

With a twist in her stomach, Sarah realizes that it was the wrong thing to joke about.

Not noticing Sarah's discomfort, Cosima happily chirps on, "So, where are we going?"

It's a tiny detail that Sarah hasn't thought of yet. She wonders what would be open at two in the morning, and what would be able to accommodate the limited abilities of a critically ill patient...

She thinks about where Cosima is from, how she had admitted the other day to being horribly homesick for California.

"I think I have an idea. It's a surprise though, okay? Don't make me blindfold you."

"I feel like I should be scared of any surprises you could come up with, dude."

"Trust me, it's a good one. Just wait for it, yeah?"

"You thinking it'll be good makes it even worse."

"If you think I won't stop the car and take you back inside, you're wrong."

Cosima gives her an innocent look, turning her attention to fiddling with the radio. Remembering her road-trip with Helena, Sarah wonders if it's some genetic trait that she missed out on. Thankfully, Cosima settles on a station before long, and unlike Helena, she doesn't sing along.

They ride without speaking for nearly twenty minutes, before Sarah stops at a twenty-four hour Wal-Mart. Cosima stays in the car while she runs in and makes her purchases; she returns with several blankets, a box of tissues, a flashlight, and several movie theater sized boxes of candy. Cosima raises her eyes at the bags, but doesn't ask questions.

Before they start driving again, Sarah digs out the box of tissues and tosses it to Cosima. "Here, save your sweater."

"My sweater thanks you," Cosima says, ripping open the box and tucking one of the tissues into her hand.

A few minutes later, they reach their destination. Sarah knows she made the right choice when she hears Cosima gasp, taking in the sight of the vast lake, and, more importantly, the sandy beach accompanying it. It's not the ocean she's used to, but it's the closest thing Canada had to offer. It doesn't seem to matter to her, though - even a small taste of home is much appreciated.

"I'm gonna run out and get the blanket spread out, then I'll come back and help you down," Sarah tells her, popping open her car door.

Nodding in response, Cosima doesn't take her eyes off the moonlit water.

Sarah sets up their little camp at the edge of the beach, right where the grass becomes sand. She doesn't want to tempt Cosima's shaky footsteps by having her walk on such an uneven surface as sand.

Helping Cosima walk proves that her caution was well warranted. Sarah supports most of her weight, but she can still feel her body shuddering with the effort to stay standing. They have to stop at least once a minute for Cosima to cough and catch her breath; a journey that Sarah had jogged in under a minute takes the pair of them almost ten.

Finally reaching the blanket, Sarah guides her down to sitting, letting her lean against her side. Sarah wraps an arm around her to help her stay sitting upright, and pulls Cosima closer to her. With her free hand, she throws one of the extra blankets around both of their shoulders.

Cosima drifts closer to her, snuggling more than leaning. "It's really beautiful here. I used to go to the beach, like, two or three times a week in California. It was never quiet like this, though. Too many people."

"Yeah, people'll ruin everything," Sarah agrees.

For a long time, neither girl says anything. They listen to the small sounds that surround them - the lapping of water, hooting of owls, and the raspy sound of Cosima's breaths. Every now and then, the peace is shattered by a coughing fit. Sarah casually rubs circles into her shoulder until it passes, like it's something as simple as a cold.

"Shit," Cosima mutters when her phone beeps with a text message. A glance at the screen, and she confirms, "It's Delphine."

Sarah glances at the screen, reading, _'where are you?!_'

Cosima responds immediately, answering with, _'Sarah and I took a trip, we'll be back soon. Btw, have I told you lately how pretty you are?'_

"I don't think flattery will get you out of this one," Sarah tells her.

"Never hurts to try," Cosima shrugs. She curls back against Sarah, "Now that we're caught, we might as well stay awhile."

Sarah understands her reluctance to leave. Since springing her from DYAD, the thought that she might be seeing Cosima out of the hospital for the last time has been heavy on her mind. She can only imagine that it's a thousands times worse for Cosima herself.

"We can't leave yet," Sarah echoes, "I just remembered that I brought candy."

"And you're only just remembering that _now_? I'm disappointed in you, Sarah."

Cosima's phone beeps again; this time, it's impossible for Sarah to peek at it, because it's written entirely in French. "Uh oh... she's angry," Cosima groans.

"She's just angry that we're at the beach with candy, and she isn't," Sarah says, handing Cosima one of the boxes.

After a moment, Cosima answers, "The problem has more to do with her thinking I'm reckless. And that I'm not taking this, like, seriously enough."

"You've got to live a little," Sarah says, waving to her oxygen tank. "Even when you're... ya know..."

"Dying," Cosima finishes.

It's a different tone than the one they had used to joke in earlier. It's a statement, without emotion, like she's just reciting another piece of information for one of her classes at school.

It's a tone of resignation.

Sarah's face falls. "Don't say that, Cos."

"Unless something changes, that's what's gonna happen. It's kind of hard to ignore," she holds up her blood saturated tissue to illustrate her point.

"Something _is _going to change. Delphine's gong to figure this thing out - she's not going to let you go anywhere. None of us are."

Cosima rubs her eyes, lifting her glasses to do so. "I would feel way better about the whole thing if I were in the lab, working on it."

"You'll be back there soon," Sarah tells her, running a hand up and down her arm.

Cosima makes a sound that sounds like one of agreement.

They end their beach trip the way they started it - appreciating their surroundings in silence. Sarah makes a sizable dent in their candy supply, and Cosima manages as much as her decreased appetite will allow.

When Sarah notices Cosima's eyes sliding shut, she gives her arm another rub. "We should probably get back, yeah?"

"Hmm... I guess we have to face the Legion of Doom eventually."

"That's the spirit. We should come back here, though. Soon."

Cosima turns her gaze up to the moon. The pale moonlight splashes over her face, and Sarah tries not to think about how much it makes her look like a ghost. "Yeah... we will," Cosima whispers.


End file.
